Do you love your new Hercules set? Can't get enough of FansProject's items? Upset that you bought a knock off when you thought you were getting an original? Use this forum to tell everyone your thoughts about TF Knock Offs and 3rd party toys.

Dinobots have been the talk of the fandom since it was revealed that Grimlock and company would be featured in next year's Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. Now we have some Dinobots (or would it be Dino-nots?) from the third-party front. Some new prototype images of TFC Toys' Dino-combiner have surfaced on ACToys. All five figures are revealed in dinosaur mode, as well as their combined form. Like TFC Toys' Hercules set, the Dino-combiner will also feature individual weapons that combine. Even if you're not a fan of the set's combining gimmick these figures look as though they could serve as good individual Dinobots. Of course that will depend heavily on their final colors.

Just in case you're wondering who the other combiner is in image three, it's another TFC Toys project based on Star Cats Rescue Team, a Chinese cartoon. While not a Transformers related project, it appears a Denfensor-ish repaint may be in the cards based on the last image mirrored below.

that pretty cool. why cant hasbro buy the rights to produce some of these 3rd party figures, most of them are better than what hasbros putting out these days and it would save the fandom some money. Not to mention make hasbro more money.

I really think its time with the know how these companies have that all these combiner pieces start getting built into the figures. I would rather not have feet and hands that have to be set off to the side.

MR Optimus Prime wrote:How about a drone dinosaur that becomes all the pieces for G1 Dinobots to combine?

i think drone pieces are lazy and they all suck, look at the failed PCC line and any other drone bots. They suck.Keeping them individual and all transforming adds value.

And for people complaining about NOT having add on pieces. Its much better to have add on pieces that fit, then once again the lazy and UGLY Energon combiners that do not have true hands or feet. Its why 3rd parties make upgrades for them.

This combiner looks pretty good especially since its coming from a 3rd party. It could use a larger head, unless this isnt the final product. The feet are actually cool, like the Predacons feet cannons but with 3! cool. What I wanna know is what the combiner is to its left in the pic? A DEFENSOR??

Cybershark wrote:What I wanna know is what the combiner is to its left in the pic? A DEFENSOR??

El Duque wrote:Just in case you're wondering who the other combiner is in image three, it's another TFC Toys project based on Star Cats Rescue Team, a Chinese cartoon. While not a Transformers related project, it appears a Denfensor-ish repaint may be in the cards based on the last image mirrored below.

Cybershark wrote:What I wanna know is what the combiner is to its left in the pic? A DEFENSOR??

El Duque wrote:Just in case you're wondering who the other combiner is in image three, it's another TFC Toys project based on Star Cats Rescue Team, a Chinese cartoon. While not a Transformers related project, it appears a Denfensor-ish repaint may be in the cards based on the last image mirrored below.

lol, Yea I seen it after I hit send, I was being lazy reading, thanks.

I also think the Dino former could be larger it seems rather small as well as the head could be larger too. And it needs some kind of chest shield. Just what I think.

Eh, never really cared for a combining dinobot team. And I could definitely live without a 3rd party recolor of something not Transformer related wannabe Defensor. Custom 3rd party products are starting to feel like Knock Offs of Transformers characters to me (more detailed updated articulated KO's but still KO's). Don't get me wrong, I love my City Commander, and when I have the rest of Hercules I will probably love him too. The Cygar upgrade for Kup and the upgrade for movie Screamer are all great. But the Ironhide/Ratchet, Huffer/Seaspray/Powerglide and other thing (sorry for only using iGear products) seem like updated, articulated KO's to me. So do the two Devastators. But the upgrade sets like CC, Protector, Leader SS jets/saw, Cygar, and Tanker don't feel like KO's to me, just improvements. Anyway, that's just my two cents.

I'll agree that there was no good reason to make the Dinobots combiners, if the Hercules figures are any indication these could very well make great Classics universe Dinobots as stand alone figures. I do wish they would have took the extra engineering that went into making them combine and put it into making really awesome individual figures, but when it comes to Dinobots I'll take what I can get.

I'll be onboard for Hercules because i've liked what i have seen so far. Hope it will stay together nicely when combined though.

These prototypes i don't like at all. The Dinobots look awkward in their Dinosaur modes. They look more like cheap plastic figures that you get for a Dollar and are always inaccurate looking and most of those share the same heads with jaws open showing teeth. If they want me to get these they have to either design them so they look like the Dinobots from G1 or the real thing.

Before anyone else beats me to it, Dinosaurs are not lizards and a Pteranodon is not an official Dinosaur, it's a flying reptile. Dinosaurs are land based animals.

fenrir72 wrote:Very nice! But I have to agree with some of the opinions that the Dinobots aren't meant to merge. They're not like the Predacons' bio/personality. Bruisers who do it one on one

True dat. If I buy them *and it's only depending on my money situation at that time) I most likely will only combine them once, but leave them stand alone figs. They will be the Dinobots Hasbro never created...........

Megatron Wolf wrote:that pretty cool. why cant hasbro buy the rights to produce some of these 3rd party figures, most of them are better than what hasbros putting out these days and it would save the fandom some money. Not to mention make hasbro more money.

That would be like admitting defeat or at the most part revealing that they're dropping the ball on the supply and demand game.

Motto:"When it comes to helping for the good I stand firmly with my chest out & ready to take on anyone!"

Weapon: 16 Cannons

With dinobots combining every single TF fan can't say they didn't want to see that when you watch Heavy Metal War, The Movie, & Call of the Primitives, seeing Devestator get the best of them or watching them not begin able to handle Predaking & Abominus. Look @ that custom dinobot custom everyone would want that. Next to a city TF the dino's r suppose to be the badest bots out their. I'm happy somebody went above & beyond to give us want 90% of TF fans always wanted to see hasbro do. It looks great so far can't what to see the finished product!

The colors they showed for these guys erarlier didn't impress me either. And why does Swoop have a visor? But ... maybe I'll get 'em since I love the Dinobots and want updated versions of them. We'll see when they come out, I guess. Who knows, maybe there'll be another 3rd party Dinobot set in the works by then.

Even if you personally don't like the idea of dinobots combining, it's obvious that most people do. Do a search on ebay for "dinobot combiner" and see how many crappy customs there are and what people are willing to pay for them. It's about time a third party made one that was actually GOOD.

And yes, Hasbro is moronic for not doing this themselves. They made Grimlock into other gimmicky stuff like Pretenders, etc., but never made the dinobots into the original gimmick -- a combiner? Utterly stupid.

I could live with them being not molded exactly to resemble G1, provided they have G1 colors. However, the scale really screws them up. Not only are they out of scale in the TF kingdom, but they are out of scale in the dinosaur kingdom as well. I mean, look at sludge. Why is he the smallest instead of the largest ???? Sludge should have been the torso. And dont give me the lame excuse about "the torso always has to be the leader". Scrapper was a freakin leg on Devastator. I have no intrest in the combiner feature anyways and since the robot modes are not going to be G1, they would get displayed in dino mode. But the scale sucks.